10 Creative Workshops for Kids in London

You’ll find London’s top creative workshops at the National Gallery’s Sunday sessions, Victoria and Albert Museum’s hands-on galleries, and Tate Modern’s digital drawing experiences. Design Museum offers monthly family workshops, while specialized venues like South London Gallery host free artist-led activities. Holiday art camps provide intensive multi-day programs, and after-school clubs integrate seamlessly into your routine. Private mobile studios bring personalized sessions directly to you, with flexible museum drop-ins accommodating busy schedules and offering something for every young artist’s interests.

Creativity Art Workshops: Comprehensive Art Programs for Young Artists

London’s creativity art workshops offer your child far more than a fun afternoon activity—they’re all-encompassing programs designed to build essential skills through multi-disciplinary arts experiences. These workshops typically target children aged 4–16, with age-appropriate groups matching developmental stages from early years through teens.

Your child will engage with drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, printmaking, and mixed media, building fine motor skills, visual literacy, and problem-solving abilities.

Research shows structured arts participation improves cognitive skills and school performance, including better maths and reading outcomes. However, access to quality arts education faces significant challenges, with expressive arts subjects declining from 14% to 6.8% of GCSEs nationally between 2009/10 and 2023/24.

With 96% of 5–15-year-olds in England engaging with arts annually, these workshops tap into children’s natural creativity while developing communication, teamwork, and self-regulation skills that benefit both academic success and future employment prospects.

National Gallery: Sunday Workshops and Messy Play Sessions

Every Sunday at 11am and 2pm, the National Gallery transforms into a bustling creative hub where children aged 5-11 plunge into hands-on art workshops that’ll spark their imagination and develop essential skills. You won’t need to book ahead, but arrive an hour early since these popular sessions fill up quickly.

Artist-led activities take place in the gallery’s art studio or Roden Centre for Creative Learning.

For younger children, you’ll find sensory-rich messy play sessions featuring paint, mark making, and light projection. Artist Abi Horn leads these family workshops using Reggio Emilia approaches that encourage curiosity through hands-on exploration. Sessions run for 90 minutes and welcome families with children of all ages including those under 5.

The Roden Centre opens weekends and holidays as a drop-in space with artist-designed playboxes, drawing resources, and family facilities including buggy parking and lunch areas.

Victoria and Albert Museum: Young V&A Creative Experiences

Where can your child explore art, design and performance in a museum built specifically with their creative development in mind? Young V&A in Bethnal Green offers three permanent galleries—Play, Imagine, and Design—each packed with hands-on experiences tailored for babies through early teens.

Your children won’t just observe the 2,000 objects on display; they’ll use them as springboards for creative activities. They can experiment with immersive optical illusions, perform on the stage, build with large-scale marble runs, and create self-portraits.

The Minecraft Arcade introduces video-game design concepts, while the open design studio encourages experimentation. The museum emerged from a £13m redevelopment of the former V&A Museum of Childhood, transforming the space into London’s major new destination for young people.

You’ll find year-round workshops and self-guided visits that support art, performance, and design education. The museum’s intergenerational approach means you and your child learn together through shared making and play.

Tate Modern: Digital Drawing and Modern Art Exploration

While Young V&A focuses on hands-on making, your family can explore how technology transforms artistic expression at Tate Modern’s innovative Tate Draw experience. Located within the main gallery building, dedicated drawing desks feature digital sketch pads that let kids create art inspired by surrounding modern and contemporary works.

Your children’s finished drawings get projected large-scale onto a gallery wall, creating an instant public display experience that introduces concepts of art exhibition and audience engagement. You can save their digital artworks to your mobile device or order custom T-shirts featuring their designs. Families can share their creations on social media using #TateDraw to connect with a broader artistic community.

This Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported initiative connects seamlessly with Tate Kids’ online platform, offering games, quizzes, and art history content for ages 6-13, extending creative learning beyond your South Bank visit.

Design Museum: Family Days and Monthly Making Workshops

Beyond traditional gallery visits, the Design Museum transforms creative learning through its monthly Design Camps and specialized family workshops that let your children plunge into professional design processes. Your kids can craft paper sculptures inspired by Lunar New Year celebrations, design custom patches and badges using heat-transfer inks on upcycled fabrics, or master prop-making techniques influenced by Wes Anderson’s distinctive visual storytelling.

These half-term sessions target different age groups—prop making suits 8-11 year olds, while patches workshops challenge secondary school creativity levels. Each workshop emphasizes sustainable materials and hands-on experimentation with real design techniques. Members enjoy up to 20% discount on these learning events along with free unlimited exhibition access.

You’ll receive updates by signing up for Family newsletters and checking the ‘Family Events and Activities’ box. The museum’s approach combines artistic exploration with practical skills your children can actually use.

South London Gallery: Free Monthly Artist-Led Sessions

Every last Saturday of the month, the South London Gallery opens its doors for free drop-in workshops where professional artists guide your family through creative sessions that respond directly to current exhibitions. These informal spaces let families relax together while exploring contemporary art across galleries, studios, and The Orozco Garden.

You’ll find activities tailored for all ages, from dedicated 0-5 play sessions to specialized programming for teens. The workshops emphasize creative exploration and wellbeing rather than formal instruction, encouraging experimentation and collaboration.

Located in Southwark, the gallery also runs Art Block on Sceaux Gardens Estate, providing local children aged 6-16 with free creative space. Schools can also participate through dedicated artist-led workshops held in the Clore Studio on weekdays.

Sessions run monthly except December, integrating indoor and outdoor environments to maximize artistic engagement.

Private Mobile Art Studios: Personalized Creative Learning

For families seeking more personalized creative experiences, private mobile art studios bring professional instruction directly to your doorstep. These services offer tailored one or two-hour sessions perfect for small groups, accommodating anywhere from 8 to 80 guests depending on your needs.

Professional artists provide all materials and handle setup and cleanup, making it stress-free for parents. You’ll find options ranging from curriculum-aligned workshops that enhance drawing skills to process art experiences featuring tie-dye, slime, and themed projects.

Sessions emphasize critical thinking and creative exploration while fostering confidence in children aged 3 and up. Many programs also incorporate bilingual components, particularly Spanish language immersion, to enhance cultural and linguistic skills alongside artistic development.

Whether you’re planning birthday parties, after-school activities, or holiday events, these mobile studios deliver hands-on learning that suits all skill levels without requiring prior experience.

Holiday Art Camps: Intensive Creative Experiences

When school holidays arrive, intensive art camps across London transform creative curiosity into structured skill-building adventures. You’ll find comprehensive programs spanning South London’s KidsArtRoom workshops to Upper Norwood’s Little Brushstrokes camps, accommodating ages 3.5-18 across diverse skill levels.

These camps offer immersive experiences your child won’t find in regular classes. From observational drawing with charcoal at Chelsea Fine Arts to clay pottery and tie-dye projects in Upper Norwood, activities blend traditional techniques with experimental approaches. KidsArtRoom’s holiday camps run for 4 days during Easter and Summer 2025, offering 2.5 hours each day of focused artistic exploration.

Professional artists guide small groups through art history exploration, hands-on printmaking, and final exhibitions.

Flexible scheduling accommodates working parents, with options ranging from single sessions to full-week programs. Early drop-offs, late pick-ups, and multi-day discounts make intensive learning accessible while building lasting creative confidence.

After-School Art Clubs: Weekly Creative Development

How can busy parents maintain their child’s creative momentum throughout the school year? After-school art clubs offer the perfect solution, providing weekly creative development that fits seamlessly into your routine.

These clubs typically run once a week on school sites, making pickup convenient while your child explores 3D sculpture, drawing, and painting projects.

With manageable class sizes of 12-24 students, your child receives individual attention from qualified artist educators who use high-quality materials and link projects to current exhibitions.

You’ll see tangible results as your child brings home finished artworks each term, building confidence and communication skills.

The booking process is straightforward through your school’s communication channels, and research shows regular participation supports better academic outcomes and social development—making this investment worthwhile for your child’s growth. These programs welcome children from Years 1 to 6, ensuring age-appropriate creative challenges across the primary school spectrum.

Museum Drop-In Activities: Flexible Family-Friendly Sessions

While structured workshops offer consistency, museum drop-in activities give you the freedom to explore London’s cultural treasures on your family’s schedule. Major venues like the British Museum, V&A, Science Museum, and Natural History Museum offer weekend and holiday drop-ins featuring craft tables, storytelling corners, and family trails.

Most activities are free or cost around £5 per child, with museum entry typically free.

You’ll find flexible formats perfect for mixed-age families – arrive and leave when it suits you during 3-5 hour open studios. Popular spaces like Mudlarks at London Museum Docklands require advance booking, but most operate on a first-come basis.

Look for age-specific provision from under-5s to early teens, plus practical facilities like buggy parking and cafes near activity zones. The Science Museum offers Early Birds sessions with sensory-friendly environments, providing quiet areas and specialized workshops for children aged 4-15.

The Sum Up

You’ve got amazing creative options right at your fingertips across London. Whether you’re looking for drop-in museum sessions for spontaneous weekend fun or structured holiday camps for deeper artistic development, there’s something perfect for your child’s interests and schedule. Don’t hesitate to try different venues – each offers unique experiences that’ll spark creativity and build confidence. Book ahead for popular workshops, but remember many museums offer flexible walk-in activities too.